First Department Introduces Four-Judge Panels, Upsetting NY Bar Associations (New York Law Journal)

New York Law Journal, March 5, 2019

First Department Introduces Four-Judge Panels, Upsetting NY Bar Associations

“With the vacancies, four-judge panels are a necessity because there are not enough judges to go around, Acosta said. When there are two-two splits on four-judge panels, a fifth judge has to be brought in to break the tie. Practitioners facing four-judge panels can preserve the right to reargue in front of the fifth judge or the fifth judge can use the record to make a decision. ‘I understand and support the goal of keeping the appeals moving,’ said New York City Bar Association president Roger Maldonado. ‘But they’re two bad choices from the attorney’s point of view. Either the appeals take longer to be heard or you run the risk of having to reargue certain appeals.’”

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